Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs have become NFL villains like Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, says Jeff Reinebold | NFL news
With years of supremacy in the NFL have historically come portrayals of villains. The New England Patriots have experienced it, and now the Kansas City Chiefs are facing the same as football’s most wanted sovereign.
Andy Reid’s Chiefs are two wins away from becoming the first team in NFL history to win three consecutive Super Bowls after defeating the Houston Texans 23-14 on Saturday to reach their seventh straight AFC Championship game against the Buffalo Bills Josh Allen.
Patrick Mahomes is seeking his fourth career Super Bowl crown after leading the Chiefs against the San Francisco 49ers in Las Vegas last February to confirm a dynasty.
Once the league’s most explosive and trick-or-treating offense, the Chiefs have rebranded themselves as a hard-nosed winning machine that relies on Steve Spagnuolo’s stubborn, shape-shifting defense, which also has 11 one-hit games this season.
“We watch the Chiefs and I think the general public is tired of the Chiefs,” Sky Sports NFL’s Neil Reynolds said on Inside the Huddle.
“They became the Patriots. Only Tom Brady and Bill Belichick went to more consecutive AFC Championship games, they repeated and reset as the Patriots.
“Now, everybody thinks they’re getting calls every week. I think Patrick Mahomes got a few calls in his favor that he probably shouldn’t have gotten.”
Hop on your social media platform of choice this season and you may have come across accusations of favorable decisions by the officials, referee protection for Mahomes and even claims of Chiefs voodoo. All just an opinion, of course.
Just ask Texas forward Kaʻimi Fairbairn, who kicked a field goal and an extra point wide on Saturday, while another late field goal was blocked.
The Chiefs, however, benefited from a controversial roughing the pass penalty against Will Anderson Jr. and Henry To’oTo’o in their Divisional Round win over the Texans, both of whom extended drives that ended in key points.
“I can see the frustration on the outside with the occasional call, but I think people should enjoy it and recognize, which I did with Brady, the greatness, the historic greatness,” Reynolds added.
“I enjoy other teams getting to the Super Bowl, but this is a really good streak by the Chiefs, a historic streak, the best seven-year stretch in history, but every now and then they get some calls.
“When they ended the Patriots’ dynasty, they were good guys!”
The Chiefs entered the playoffs with the 11th-ranked scoring margin during a regular season in which they blocked a last-second field goal to beat the Denver Broncos, bailed on a last-second fumble against the Las Vegas Raiders and overcame a strained tight end’s toe Baltimore Ravens Isaiah Likely.
So much has to do with them surviving through marquee injuries, ongoing issues in pass protection and the stuttering effectiveness of Mahomes and his offense in reinforcing a sense of inevitability. They were anything but convincing at times, and still finished 15-2 to earn the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye.
“I listen to the radio after the game and every other caller says it’s fixed, Mahomes gets this and that,” Jeff Reinebold added.
“What started to be heard was that people hated the Chiefs! For decades, they were a team in the middle of America that nobody thought too much about.
“They were a small market that nobody thought too much about. Now they are an evil empire and you have to drive them out.”
Travis Kelce came alive at his favorite time of the year over the weekend, leading the Chiefs with 117 receiving yards and a touchdown to surpass Jerry Rice for most postseason 100-yard receiving games in NFL history.
He averaged 16.7 yards per catch on the day and managed just 8.5 during the regular season, which also saw him post a career-low but still team-high 823 receiving yards.
“If you froze me in a cryochamber for 10 years, took me out and turned me back on, and I was watching Patrick Mahomes to Travis Kelce, I’d know it was January,” Reynolds said.
“That’s ridiculous. Patrick Mahomes to Travis Kelce, how does that happen?
“It’s the Chiefs. 212 rushing yards, fewest rushing yards in a playoff win since 1991. Should be worried, but here they are again in the Championship Game, because of Mahomes, Kelce, the usual suspects.
“He caught a pass over midfield and I saw the cruiserweights turn faster.”
All four losing teams from the weekend’s Divisional Round contest finished their games with superior rushing yards compared to their opponents, the Chiefs managing just 50 yards on the ground while seeing Mahomes throw for a paltry 177.
“Houston outplayed Kansas City in first downs, third down efficiency, total plays, total offense, yards per play, passing — we’re talking about Mahomes — rushing … and they won the football game,” Reinebold said.
It was the 300th career win for Chiefs head coach Reid, who is now just four playoff wins away from tying Belichick’s all-time record of 31.
Will a third straight Super Bowl victory rival the Patriots icon for the right to be considered the greatest coach of all time?
“I don’t know how he can’t be up there as the greatest, being in that special class with a handful of the best of the best,” Reinebold said.
“If he can somehow take this team to another Super Bowl win and make it a three-peat, which no one has ever done, including Belichick, then how can you not put him on the same pedestal.
“I think about Belichick’s prickly nature, Andy wants to spread good around him and wants everyone to feel like the reason why they’re winning, the culture of the Patriots has never been like that.
“He’s not like that. Their defense is what wins football games, not their offense, and that doesn’t bother him.”
What’s next?
Sunday January 26th is the NFL Conference Championships – Live Sky Sports NFL – with the Philadelphia Eagles first hosting the Washington Commanders in the NFC title game at 8 p.m., followed by the Chiefs taking on the Bills at 11:30 p.m.
Super Bowl LIX takes place on Sunday, February 9 at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, live on Sky Sports NFL.
